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This paper focuses on the fact that the 2004–2005 conditionality review expands to include a review of the application of the new Guidelines on Conditionality, adopted in 2002. These guidelines were the culmination of a comprehensive and far-reaching review of conditionality that aimed to enhance the effectiveness of IMF-supported programs. They represented the first revision of the IMF’s conditionality guidelines since 1979, and were developed by the IMF after seeking input from civil society and public forums held in several countries. This review comes at an early stage of experience with the new guidelines, and further evidence will be needed before definite conclusions can be drawn. The ultimate test of conditionality is whether it contributes to better economic outcomes, including over the medium term, and these cannot yet be gauged. Moreover, although this review draws in part on case studies, no substitute exists for cross-country analysis for identifying broad trends, and at this stage such analysis is hampered by small sample sizes.
Although capital inflows are generally beneficial to recipient countries, they also pose a challenge for the conduct of economic policy. This paper proposes a conceptual taxonomy to guide the design of policy responses in the face of capital flows. We explore how responses to capital surges should be differentiated based on the source of balance of payments pressures. We also examine whether the policy choices in emerging market countries conform to the taxonomy's predictions and find some correspondence, especially during periods of high global liquidity.
This paper examines the various roles of IMF financing in crisis prevention. Emerging market economies that experienced financial crises in the past have been subject to enormous economic and social costs, highlighting the importance of crisis prevention. While the main defense against a crisis lies in a country’s own policies and institutional framework, the IMF can contribute to these efforts through its surveillance activities, provision of technical assistance, and promotion of standards and codes. But the IMF may be able to contribute to crisis prevention more directly by providing contingent financial support. This paper explores the theoretical basis of, and empirical evidence for, possible “crisis prevention programs.”
This paper examines why surges in capital flows to emerging market economies (EMEs) occur, and what determines the allocation of capital across countries during such surge episodes. We use two different methodologies to identify surges in EMEs over 1980-2009, differentiating between those mainly caused by changes in the country's external liabilities (reflecting the investment decisions of foreigners), and those caused by changes in its assets (reflecting the decisions of residents). Global factors-including US interest rates and risk aversion¡-are key to determining whether a surge will occur, but domestic factors such as the country's external financing needs (as implied by an intertemporal optimizing model of the current account) and structural characteristics also matter, which explains why not all EMEs experience surges. Conditional on a surge occurring, moreover, the magnitude of the capital inflow depends largely on domestic factors including the country's external financing needs, and the exchange rate regime. Finally, while similar factors explain asset- and liability-driven surges, the latter are more sensitive to global factors and contagion.
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Equatorial Guinea Business Law Handbook - Strategic Information and Basic Laws
Equatorial Guinea Investment and Business Guide - Strategic and Practical Information
This paper reviews developments in corporate performance in the FYR Macedonia during the 1990s. The paper finds substantial differences in performance between surviving old firms and nimbler new ones. The paper reviews factors that facilitated restructuring among surviving firms, and concludes that private sector ownership, hard budget constraints, and market-based economic institutions have served to strengthen corporate performance. The paper also shows that the predominance of insider privatization and the resulting low ownership concentration is one of the reasons for the poor performance of surviving firms.
The 2015 Article IV Consultation presents economic outlook and risks of Nicaragua. Over the last three years, real GDP growth has averaged 4.8 percent, one of the highest in the region, while inflation has remained anchored by the exchange rate regime. Poverty has fallen sharply, but unemployment has increased due to a decline in the manufacturing sector. The current policy mix is broadly adequate to maintain macroeconomic stability in the near term, but Nicaragua needs to fortify its policy framework. In particular, reducing tax exonerators and exemptions and improving the targeting of fiscal subsidies would strengthen the efficiency and equity of public finances and contribute to rebuilding fiscal buffers.
This publication contains a collection of papers which examine the design of IMF-supported programmes during the years 1995-2000 in both middle-income and low-income countries. The analysis covers objectives and outcomes, policy formulation and programme design, and experiences in relation to macroeconomic and structural policies.